The imperial edict had already been sent to Dongyi, but Dongyi had only humbly and flatteringly replied to the edict, offering a large sum of gold and silver. They refused to admit that they had anything to do with the manor at the foot of Cang Mountain — this was a response anyone could imagine. The Great Grandmaster who guarded Dongyi's Sword Lodge alone maintained his pride. At the same time, he did not want to bring disaster to the millions of people surrounding Dongyi, so he could only remain silent.
The situation in the north was tense. The evidence of Northern Qi's meddling in the internal affairs of the Qing Kingdom was a fact that they could not defend themselves. So the two sides trained their troops on the border, and small conflicts broke out between the small vassal states that each side controlled. It seemed that a war was about to break out.
Dark clouds floated in the north of the Qing Kingdom, but it was midsummer in the capital. People wandered about freely, enjoying the peace and prosperity that came with a flourishing age. Fan Xian was also one of them. Although the incident at Niulan Street had not ended with his own hands, it could be considered as an explanation to himself and those who had died. And in the process of handling this matter, he learned many things. Although every step he took was actually relying on the power of the Overwatch Council, he learned a lot about the Overwatch Council's procedures. Other than what Fei Jie had taught him all those years ago, he learned a lot more about the Overwatch Council's procedures.
The summer was hard to endure. The lawsuit between the Fan family and the Guo family had finally come to an end. In the eyes of many, this was already a small matter. Since Fan Xian had become the Functionary of Taichang Temple, he would naturally become a noble of some princess in the palace. The insignificant Guo family, facing the palace, did not dare to meddle. So they had long since withdrawn the lawsuit, and Fan Xian had finally obtained permission to leave the capital.
After such a terrible event, Fan Xian dared to immediately leave the capital. It had to be said that it was a very bold move. But now, there were always many people following him to protect him. There were old people from the Fan manor, and there were people from the Overwatch Council. Now, Fan Xian had a secret identity — Commissioner of the Overwatch Council. Other than Wang Qinian, he had also recruited a few new faces from all over the place.
One morning, before the scorching sun rose, the three young masters of the Fan manor climbed into a carriage. Under the protection of the guards and Wang Qinian's squad, they drove out of the capital and arrived at the Fan manor not far from the capital. This trip was not to avoid the heat, but to offer sacrifices.
In the cemetery, the guards had already laid out the offerings such as fruits, incense, candles, and the like. Fan Xian silently looked at the few new gravestones, and his heart was filled with complicated feelings. Ever since his rebirth, he had been holding on to his thoughts, but at this moment, he became somewhat absent-minded.
The smoke from the burning paper money was very heavy, and Fan Sizhe could not stand it anymore. He retreated to the carriage, but Ruoruo endured the smoke. She squinted her eyes and held her brother's sleeve as she stood in front of the grave. She knew that the three guards who were laid to rest here had died for her brother's sake, so her heart was filled with gratitude. Furthermore, she had been taught about this in Fan Xian's letters since she was a child, so she did not think that paying respects to servants was against the rules.
In the smoke, a few new guards stood silently behind Fan Xian. Whether it was because of the smoke or the fire, the men's eyes were slightly red. The way they looked at their young master's back was different. After a while, one of the guards kindly advised, "Young Master, you've come to see these brothers. It's good enough that you've come to see them. There's a lot of smoke here, so let's go back to the manor."
Fan Xian's eyes were also badly stained by the smoke. He smiled and rubbed them. He listened to the guard and got into the carriage. In the carriage, Fan Sizhe was looking at the accounts of Danbo Bookstore for the past month. Seeing his brother and sister enter, he shifted his seat and suddenly lowered his voice. "Big Brother, is this a trick to buy people's hearts?"
Fan Xian's mood was somewhat gloomy. He smiled and ignored him. He used his hand to ruffle the hair on Fan Sizhe's big head. "You have to believe that there are some things in this world that are true. A heartless man may not necessarily be a true hero …" Fan Ruoruo softly said, "How can a man not love his son?"
Fan Xian looked at his sister with some surprise. "You …" Ruoruo lowered her head and explained, "Brother said it once a few days ago, so I remembered it." Fan Sizhe was very happy to find that his sister was so thoughtful and intelligent. "Remember," he said softly, "this was said by a man named Zhou."
Fan Sizhe looked at him and muttered, "Oh, you've changed your pen name again? When are you going to bring out the last dozen or so chapters of Story of the Stone? "
Fan Xian didn't have the energy to do that, but hearing the word "pen name" made him feel unreasonably embarrassed. He thought to himself that explaining who wrote it was indeed a bit redundant.
He was slightly angry and embarrassed, so he continued to lecture Fan Sizhe. "Perhaps people's hearts can be bought, but things like feelings are formed naturally. If people don't have feelings, then wouldn't they become monsters? Living in this world, not caring about anything, not recognizing family, not caring about life and death. Even if you become an immortal, what's the point? "Fan Sizhe shook his head and retorted," You're not an immortal. How do you know if being an immortal is good or not? " Fan Xian responded quickly. "I'm not an immortal. I'm a human, so I know that being an immortal and not being able to live forever must feel terrible."
Suddenly, Fan Xian thought of Uncle Wu Zhu, and a strong feeling of unease and self-blame welled up in his heart. He was worried that when Uncle Wu Zhu grew old, he would become a lonely old man who couldn't speak — but Wu Zhu insisted on hiding in the dark, and Fan Xian had no way of finding him.
The carriage left the clan's graveyard and followed the widest ridge between the fields, making its way to the estate with some difficulty. When the carriage arrived at the foot of a large slope on the outskirts of the estate, the people of the estate came out to greet them. It wasn't just tenant farmers who lived there, but also a few destitute families of the Fan clan. They couldn't stay in such a prosperous and expensive place like the capital, so they had to move to the nearby farms. But they didn't have land, and they couldn't bring themselves to pay rent like the tenant farmers. Count Sinan wasn't someone who was willing to spend money to take care of his poor relatives, but he couldn't just watch them starve to death. So for now, these Fan clansmen only helped the Fan manor look after the farms and took care of the affairs here, so that they could earn some money each month to support their families.
Strangely, Count Sinan never mentioned Fan Xian's ancestral homecoming, and Fan Xian pretended to have forgotten. He still had some questions that he couldn't explain. However, in the capital today, there was no longer anyone who looked down on Fan Xian as an illegitimate child. In the Fan clan, they knew that the future of the Fan clan would probably depend on this beautiful young master, so they were especially respectful.
Fan Xian took the cup of tea handed to him by the elder and drank it in one gulp. He nodded to the people around him, then followed the guard to a small courtyard on the west side of the forest. This was Teng Zijing's courtyard. Once inside, Fan Xian found that Teng Zijing had already gotten up and was waiting obediently in the courtyard. Teng Zijing looked at Fan Xian and said awkwardly, "Young master, I wanted to go out to greet you, but Hou San 'er wouldn't let me."
Fan Xian didn't stand on ceremony with him. He helped him into the central room and explained, "Don't blame Hou San 'er, I said that." Hou San' er was one of Fan Xian's newly recruited guards. He had been at the front of the country estate. Fan Xian looked at Teng Zijing's slightly stout face and asked, "How's your leg?"
Teng Zijing laughed. "It's nothing. I can move it now. I'll probably be able to return to the capital in a few days."
"If you think it's not easy to recover here, you might as well go back to the capital." As they spoke, Teng Zijing's wife and daughter came in to greet their master. Fan Ruoruo handed out the money and asked Teng Zijing's five-year-old daughter a few questions. She then carried the child out, leaving the men in the room.
Fan Sizhe was still calculating, and even Teng Zijing's greeting was only a grunt of acknowledgment. Fan Xian looked at his brother helplessly and listened to Teng Zijing's explanation. "He'll stay in the manor for now. After all, his wife and son are here. Once he's recovered, he'll naturally return to the capital to serve the young master."
The two of them could be considered to have experienced life and death together, so their conversation was much more direct. Fan Xian nodded and praised him. "You sure know how to enjoy your wife and child heating the kang." Teng Zijing laughed. "It's so hot today. If the kang gets any hotter, you'll suffer from internal heat."
Danzhou's climate was excellent. It was warm in the winter and cool in the summer, so no one used kang beds. After entering the capital, it happened to be spring and summer, so Fan Xian didn't have the opportunity to sleep on the large kang. Hearing this, he pressed down on the kang he was sitting on and found that it was cool and comfortable. His eyes turned, and he thought that if he were to live in the middle of the Cang Mountains for a while after his marriage, he would have to find a way to make a kang bed.
Teng Zijing had no idea that the young master's mind had suddenly wandered to the winter snow mountains after October. "Young master, eat some fruit and then return to the manor. There's nothing good to eat in this manor. Besides, if we delay any longer, it will be too late to get back to the capital. I'm afraid we won't be able to get through the city gates."
Fan Xian smiled and waved his hand. "Before we came, I told my father that the three of us will stay the night in this manor and return tomorrow. We've been working hard in the capital for the past few months, and it's rare that we have a chance to have some peace and quiet. Although we don't dare to stay too long, you should at least entertain us for one night. " Only now did Teng Zijing know that he was planning to spend the night. He quickly called his wife in and had her prepare guest rooms, hot water, and the like. Although life in the manor was not luxurious, there were many people. As soon as they heard that the young master of Fan Manor was going to spend the night there, a dozen middle-aged wives began to make arrangements. Before long, everything was ready. Fan Xian rolled his eyes and moved closer to Teng Zijing's ear. "Arrange for the people following me to stay somewhere close."
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